Published on: 2026-07-10
Source: Government of the Russian Federation –
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Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko and Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, based on data from Rosstat, reported on domestic tourism indicators for the first five months of the current year.
“The tourism industry is traditionally one of the key drivers of the economy. Therefore, systematic work within the framework of the national project ‘Tourism and Hospitality,’ which is being implemented by order of our President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, is a contribution not only to travel itself but also to the overall development of our country. We see that this work is yielding results across Russia: new routes, infrastructure, and attraction points are emerging. And most importantly, the number of trips is increasing. This is shown by the results for the first five months of this year: from January to May, tourists made 34.2 million trips across Russia — which exceeds last year’s figures by 6.2%,” said Dmitry Chernyshenko.
Traditionally, the highest number of tourist trips over five months were recorded in Moscow (5.2 million), Krasnodar Krai (3.2 million), and Moscow Oblast (2.7 million). The top ten also included Saint Petersburg (2.6 million), the Republic of Tatarstan (1.2 million), Crimea (862 thousand), Sverdlovsk (859 thousand), Tyumen (794 thousand), Rostov (689 thousand) oblasts, and Stavropol Krai (649 thousand). Regions actively developing their tourist infrastructure showed significant growth: the Republic of Tuva, Sevastopol, the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, the Republic of Dagestan, Amur Oblast, and North Ossetia–Alania.
“The leaders in growth rates were regions that focused on developing tourist infrastructure and creating new routes. More and more entities of the North Caucasus are joining this effort, offering high-quality and diverse recreation. This is the result of targeted work on developing tourist routes and increasing travel accessibility for our citizens and guests from other countries,” said Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov.
The positive dynamics of the first five months of this year confirm that domestic tourism continues to grow steadily, and Russians’ interest in traveling within the country remains at a high level. Alongside this, inbound tourism is also increasing: from January to May this year, the number of foreign visitors rose by 23% – to 2 million people. To facilitate this, visa procedures are being actively simplified: visas have been abolished with China, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Myanmar; the list of countries whose citizens can enter Russia on an electronic visa has been expanded from 53 to 64, with the allowed stay extended from 16 to 30 days. Moreover, the geography of direct air connections is expanding: in recent years, flights have become available from Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Vietnam, Indonesia, and in 2025, air communication with Saudi Arabia was opened, and the route networks with Vietnam and China have been expanded. In total, more than 35 international destinations are available.
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